For the first time in Russian historical writing, the author turns to the history of the French Academy in Rome. Avoiding the chronological approach already elaborated in foreign historiography, the article presents a picture of the life of the Academy from the point of view of a royal pensioner staying within its walls, his daily routine, activities and acquaintances. For a young French artist, studying in Rome was the most important final period of his formation, with significant implications both for his creative self-awareness and for his future career. Thus, the aim of the research is to consider one by one the opportunities that opened up for the royal pensioner and his living conditions. Based on such sources as the charter of the French Academy in Rome, the correspondence of its directors with the Parisian authorities, as well as on an extensive body of foreign literature, the author consistently examines the contingent and background of students, the requirements for their professional skills, behavior, marital status and religion, living conditions in the changing residences of the Academy, educational curriculum. The author goes into detail about such an important function of the French Academy in Rome as the replenishment of the royal collection with copies of the works of Italian masters and about the attitude of students to the need to devote a lot of time to copying. The article raises the question about the pensioners’ trips, the way the opportunity to visit different regions of Italy influenced young artists and even the processes in French art of this period. It also highlights such an important aspect as the relationship of pensioners with academic authorities, their conflicts, and the struggle for their rights. Attention is paid to the entertainment of pensioners, their socialite acquaintances and the first orders carried out contrary to the charter. In conclusion, the importance of an internship in Rome for the education of a young French artist is determined, no matter whether he chose a career at home or abroad. Italian pensionship is characterized as a common experience for the French artistic elite, significant for all French art of the period under study.